Doll with hoop whirling mechanism



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR A ,EB/P YA/V r ATTORNEY L. F. BRYANT DOLL WITH HOOP WHIRLING MECHANISM Nov. 15, 1960 Filed Feb. 27, 1959 Nov. 15, 1960 L. F. BRYANT DOLL WITH HOOP WHIRLING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 27, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent O DOLL WITH HOOP WHIRLING MECHANISM Leroy F. Bryant, 1291 Reutlinger Ave., Louisville, Ky.

Filed Feb. 27, 1959, Ser. No. 796,012

Claims. (Cl. 40-1063) This invention relates to a novelty toy item embodying a doll containing means for supporting a hoop eccentrically around a portion of the doll body and means for revolving said first mentioned means for revolving or whirling thehoop about an axis disposed eccentrically of the hoop.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel power unit including rotatably driven parts supported by and wherein a hollow doll body for supporting a hoop for whirling motion eccentrically around the doll body.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure l is an elevational view, partly in vertical section, of the toy;

Figure 2 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view thereof, taken substantially along the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, illustrating a portion of the hoop whirling mechanism;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view, taken substantially along the line 55 of Figure 3, and

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the electric circuit of the hoop whirling mechanism.

Referring, more. specifically to the drawings, the doll or toy in. its entirety is designated generally 8 and includes a doll body, designated generally 9, including an upper section 10 and a lower section 11. The upper section 10 includes a hollow upper body portion 12, a head 13 and arms and hands 14. The lower section 11 includes a hollow lower body portion 15, hollowlegs 16 and feet 17. While the doll or figure 9 as illustrated simulates a human figure, as the description proceeds it will become apparent that the doll or figure 9 could constitute a simulation of an animal.

A relatively wide endless band 18 is secured within the upper hollow body section 12 by fastening elements 19, as best illustrated in Figure 3, and a relatively wide endless band 20 is disposed within the lower body section 15 and is secured therein by fastening elements 21. The bands 18 and 20 have spiders 22 and 23, respectively, rigidly mounted therein. Each of the spiders is provided with a centrally disposed hollow hub 24, which hubs are preferably disposed in alignment with one another and axially of the body 9. A hollow shaft extends through the hubs 24 and is secured to said hubs as by setscrews 26. Thus, th hollow rigid shaft 25 forms a connection between the body sections 10 and 11 to support said sections in slightly spaced apart relation to one another to provide an endless slot 27 therebetween.

A power source, such as an electric motor 28, is supported eccentrically within the upper band 18 by a bracket 29 which is secured to. the motor casing and to a part of the band 18. A pinion 30 is fixed to a rotary driven shaft 31 of the motor 28 and is disposed beneath said motor.

A hollow shaft 32 is journaled on the hollow shaft 25 for rotation between thrust collars 32' which are adjustably secured to the shaft 25 and which prevent sliding movement of the shaft 32 on the shaft 25. Thus, the shaft 25 in addition to connecting the body sections 10 and 11 functions to provide a journal for the hollow shaft 32. A gear 33 is fixed to the hollow shaft 32 and meshes with the pinion 30. An arm 34 includes an inner arm section 35 having a collar 36 at its inner end which fits around the hollow shaft 32 and is secured thereto by setscrews 37, beneath the gear 33. The arm section 35 extends radially from the collar 36 and has an outwardly opening longitudinally elongated socket 38 at its outer end. A flat bar 39 comprises an outer section of the arm 34 and is sized and shaped to fit snugly in the socket 38 and extends outwardly therefrom through the slot 27. The arm section 39 is supported by engagement with the socket 38 for free movement in the slot 27 without contacting thebody portions 12 or 15. The arm 39 is shown provided at its outer end with a transversely extending sleeve 40 which is bowed slightly to conformably fit around a portion of a large hoop 41 to which the sleeve 40 is secured in any suitabl manner as by means of a pin 41 extending through said sleeve and hoop. The hoop 41 is thus supported by the arm 34 in substantially the same plane as the slot 27. The sleeve 40 could be omitted and the outer arm section 39 could be formed integral with the hoop 41.

The feet 17 of the doll 9 are adapted to rest upon a top wall or platform 42 of a hollow base 43 containing an electric current source such as a battery 44 and an electric switch 45. The switch 45 is mounted in a wall of the base 43 so as to be accessible for operation externally of the base. Each foot member 17 has rigidly mounted therein an electric socket 46 which opens downwardly into a recess 47 in the underside of the foot 17. Conductor Wires 48 and 49 are connected to the sockets 46 and extend upwardly therefrom through the hollow legs 16, through the hollow shaft 25, and have opposite ends connected to the two terminal posts 50 of the motor 28, as seen in Figure 3. The conductor wires 48 and 49 are covered with electrical insulation, as is conventional, for electrically insulating said wires from one another. Single prong electric plugs 51 are mounted in and extend upwardly from the platform 42 and are spaced apart a distance to be received in the sockets, 46 when the doll 9 is applied to the base 43. A conductor wire 52 leads from one post or terminal of the battery 44 to one, of the plugs 51, and a conductor wire 53 leads from the other post or terminal of the battery 44 to the other plug 51. The switch 45 is interposed in said conductor wire. 53. Thus, the plugs 51 and sockets 46 notonly form a detachable electrical connection between the conductor wires contained within the figure 9 and the conductor wires contained within the base 43, but additionally provide means for detachably securing the figure 9 on the platform 42.

With the toy assembled, as illustrated in Figure 1, the switch 45 is manually moved to a circuit closing position to complete the electric circuit between the current source 44 and motor 28 so that the motor will be energized for driving the gear 33, sleeve 32 and arm 34. The arm 34 revolves around the hollow shaft 25' with the section 39 thereof moving in the slot 27 and with the sleeve portion 40 and the part of the hoop contained therein rotating about the doll or figure 9 and in close proximity thereto, so that the part of the hoop 41, located remote from the sleeve 40, will revolve around the doll 9 but remote therefrom, in a manner very realistically I simulating the movement of a hoop of the type known as a hula hoop around the body of a person, propelled by movement of the body. This whirling motion of the hoop 41 can be interrupted at any time by moving the switch 45 to a circuit interrupting position.

When not in use, the hoop 41 can be removed with the arm section 39 by pulling outwardly on the sleeve 40 to disconnect the section 39 from the socket 38. During operation of the hoop 41, the section 39 is retained in the socket 38 by centrifugal force. The doll or figure 9 can also be disconnected from the base 43 by lifting upwardly thereon.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted to, without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A doll with hoop supporting and whirling mechanism comprising a doll body having a hollow portion, a shaft, means contained within the hollow portion of the doll body for supporting and journaling said shaft, an arm having an inner end fixed to said shaft and an outer end disposed externally of the doll body, said doll body having an endless slot through which said arm extends and in which a portion of the arm is disposed to revolve, a hoop, of a diameter substantially larger than the diameter of the slotted portion of said body, having a part disposed adjacent the body and fixed to the end of the arm located remote from said shaft and supported thereby in substantially the same plane as the body slot, a power source disposed within the hollow portion of the doll body, means forming a driving connection between said power source and shaft whereby the shaft is revolved by operation of the power source, said arm comprising an inner section fixed to the shaft and an outer section fixed to the hoop, and said inner section having an outwardly opening socket in which the outer section is slidably and detachably received, said outer section fitting non-turnably in the socket and being urged inwardly thereof by centrifugal force when the hoop is revolved with the arm.

2. A doll with hoop supporting and whirling mechanism comprising a doll body having a hollow portion, a shaft, means contained within the hollow portion of the doll body for supporting and journaling said shaft, an arm having an inner end fixed to said shaft and an outer end disposed externally of the doll body, said doll body having an endless slot through which said arm extends and in which a portion of the arm is disposed to revolve, a hoop, of a diameter substantially larger than the diameter of the slotted portion of said body, having a part disposed adjacent the body and fixed to the end of the arm located remote from said shaft and supported thereby in substantially the same plane as the body slot, 21 power source disposed within the hollow portion of the doll body, means forming a driving connection between said power source and shaft whereby the shaft is revolved by operation of the power source, said power source comprising an electric motor, said doll body including feet each provided with a downwardly opening electric socket, conductor wires connected to said electric motor and to said sockets, a base on which said doll is detachably mounted, electric plugs fixed to and extending upwardly from said base and detachably received in said sockets for detachably securing the doll on the base, and a self-contained current sourc contained within said base and having electrical conductors leading therefrom and connected to said electric plugs for forming an electric circuit through the plugs and sockets with the electric motor.

3. A doll as in claim 2, and a manually actuated electric switch mounted in and projecting outwardly from a part of said base and interposed in said electric circuit between the current source and one of said plugs 4. A doll with hoop supporting and whirling mechanism comprising a doll body having a hollow portion, a shaft, means contained within the hollow portion of the doll body for supporting and journaling said shaft, an arm having an inner end fixed to said shaft and an outer end disposed externally of the doll body, said doll body having an endless slot through which said arm extends and in which a portion of the arm is disposed to revolve, a hoop, of a diameter substantially larger than the diameter of the slotted portion of said body, having a part disposed adjacent the body and fixed to the end of the arm located remote from said shaft and supported thereby in substantially the same plane as the body slot, a power source disposed within the hollow portion of the doll body, means forming a driving connection between said power source and shaft whereby the shaft is revolved by operation of the power source, said doll body comprising an upper section and a lower section, rigid frames mounted in said body sections, fastening means securing said frames within the body sections, and a shaft extending between and rigidly secured to said frames for supporting the frames and body sections in predetermined spaced apart relation to one another, said first mentioned shaft comprising a hollow shaft, said last mentioned shaft comprising said means for journaling the first mentioned shaft.

5. A hoop whirling toy comprising a figured body having a hollow portion, a rotary driven shaft, means connected to the body and journaling the shaft in said hollow portion thereof, an arm having an inner end fixed to the shaft and an outer end disposed externally of the figured body, said figured body having an endless slot through which said arm extends and in which a portion of the arm is disposed to revolve around the axis of the shaft, and a hoop, of a diameter substantially larger than the diameter of the slotted portion of said body, having a part disposed adjacent the body and secured to the outer end of the arm and supported thereby for rotation with said outer end of the arm around the body.

Rebus Jan. 13, 1948 MacDonald Oct. 24, 1950 

